Épisode Veronica Mars, détective privé S03E18 - Veronica Mars Saison 3

INT - MARS RESIDENCE - NIGHT.

Piz and Veronica are sitting on her bed, each reading. Veronica's leg is resting over Piz's right foot and her foot against his left knee. They elbow each other playfully without looking up from their books. Piz is reading Soldier of Misfortune by Apollo Bukenya. The cover shows an African child soldier. Piz looks up as Keith marches into the bedroom, pointing at Veronica.

KEITH: What does the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act make illegal?

Veronica responds promptly and without looking up from her book.

VERONICA: Electronic surveillance without judicial authorization.

Keith flips his pointing hand into a "You got it" gun and marches out again. Piz is bemused.

PIZ: What was that?
VERONICA: I'm taking my P.I. exam tomorrow. He's ensuring his legacy.
PIZ: He's nervous for you. That's sweet.
VERONICA: He should be nervous for himself. I'm gonna beat his score. Then I'm gonna dine on that shared knowledge for a lifetime.

Keith marches back in, pointing at Veronica again.

KEITH: A passive infrared detector would not be the best choice under which of the following conditions: A., overhead doors, B., significant changes in temperature, C.-
VERONICA: B. Why don't you bug Piz for a while?

Keith takes a step further into the room.

KEITH: So, Piz, what are you studying?

Keith reaches out for Piz's book to bring it closer without taking it from Piz's hand.

KEITH: Apollo...
PIZ: Bukenya. Yeah, he actually goes to Hearst, and he wrote this, uh, memoir, I guess you'd call it.
KEITH: What could a college kid possibly have to put in a memoir?
Surviving Spring Break on ten bucks a day?

Keith laughs at his own joke.

PIZ: He was a child soldier in Uganda.

Keith's laughter is strangled in his throat.

PIZ: He never knew his father. The rebel army killed his mother; put a gun in his hand when he was six years old.
KEITH: Oh.

Veronica shakes her head sadly at Keith for his faux pas.

PIZ: Somehow he managed to escape as a teenager and get to the States. I'm interviewing him on my radio show tomorrow and I'm just prepping.
VERONICA: The book's already been optioned as a movie, middle six figures. Plus, he's been booked on Oprah, but [proudly] Piz got him first.

Piz holds up his palm for a hand slap but Veronica tickles it instead. Keith continues to stare down at them.

VERONICA: What?
KEITH: It's just so refreshing to hear one of your gentleman callers have more to talk about than how high the waves are breaking.

Veronica glares at Keith but is spared having to respond by the ringing of Keith's cell phone. He pulls it out of his pocket and turns away to answer it.

KEITH: Hello, hello?

Piz whispers to Veronica.

PIZ: Uh-oh.
VERONICA: What?
PIZ: Dad likes you? Kiss of death?

Veronica gives a helpless shrug. Meanwhile Keith, standing at the door to Veronica's room, is not at all happy with what he is hearing.

KEITH: What was the address?

He listens in disbelief.

KEITH: Two of them?

INT - SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT - DAY.

Keith is addressing the gathered troops. Sacks is standing next to him, hugging a bundle of papers to his chest.

KEITH: We've just had our seventh home burglary in the past thirteen days. Seventh. That's what the papers begin referring to as a crime wave. In six of the seven, the burglars have also stolen cars from the residences. All the burglaries occurred in our favourite zip code. As you know, the residents...are an impatient lot. Now, the one car we recovered had switched plates with a car in a supermarket parking lot. Jerry'll hand out printouts detailing the hot spots.

Sacks steps forward and starts to distribute the printouts.

KEITH: Stolen goods might start popping up soon. Kitsitz, Horowitz, drop in on the pawnshops and all known fences.

Kitsitz, or Horowitz, nods as Keith closes the meeting.

INT - EXAMINATION CENTRE - DAY.

A clock used for examinations is on the desk at the top of a large room. There are less than ten minutes to go. One invigilator is sitting at a second desk next to it, whilst a second is wandering through the room. The examinees are all male, of various types, from besuited business types to guys who look like thugs, and long out of their teens. The exception is Veronica who ticks boxes on her paper confidently.

INT - HEARST COLLEGE - DAY.

A number of stalls are set up in two rows facing each other in the grounds of Hearst College, decorated variously with pictures, balloons, and other eye-enticing paraphernalia. Three other stalls are set behind one of the rows. Students hand out leaflets to others as they pass. Veronica wanders down the middle of the wide aisle created by the majority of the stalls. She takes one of the proffered leaflets.

VERONICA: The job fair has everyone here in a feeding frenzy.

She passes the stall for the charity, Invisible Children.

VERONICA: Real jobs for overachieving seniors and volunteer work for everyone looking to fill a résumé. Me? The job I'm waiting on? I would have been better off buying a lottery ticket.

INT - HEARST COLLEGE, RADIO STATION - DAY.

Apollo Bukenya is in the middle of his interview at the Hearst College radio station.

APOLLO: Not long after I escaped, I was at an evac hospital...

Veronica steps quietly into the room.

APOLLO: ...and a very kind-hearted nurse was trying to comfort me, telling me that what I did was not my fault because I was just a child.

Piz acknowledges her present with a two-fingered wave, followed by a finger to his lips. She smiles and stays by the door, glancing at Apollo and starting to listen to Apollo.

APOLLO: What I have to live with today is the knowledge that, when my abductors coaxed, or rather, brainwashed me into an instrument of violence, I was left with not just the ability, but the appetite to kill. PIZ: My guest is Apollo Bukenya, a Hearst student who miraculously escaped the LRA in Uganda. Apollo, you dedicate Soldier of Misfortune to your adviser here at Hearst, Professor Lisa Tonin, who is here with us.

Professor Tonin, sitting on the other side of Piz, nods.

APOLLO: I owe her a great deal of gratitude. There would be no book without her.
PIZ: I understand she knew you before you came to Hearst.
APOLLO: She did. She actually read a short story I wrote when I was fifteen and called me. She's been my friend and mentor ever since.
PIZ: Professor Tonin?
TONIN: Well, of course, I'm flattered, but the truth is that Apollo has taught me much more than I have taught him.

Apollo dismisses that humbly.

APOLLO: Ahh.

Cut to later. Veronica exits the recording booth into the main radio office, followed by Piz.

VERONICA: You realize you're the radio-host version of a rock star, right? I don't know what the groupie procedure is for this scenario, but I might have to throw my panties at you.
PIZ: Or I could autograph you. I believe we have some sharpies laying around.

Veronica grins happily, putting her finger on her teeth girlishly.

PIZ: So, I have news. I got offered an internship with, uh, Pitchfork Media. It's pretty much the most highly regarded music-review publication on the internet.
VERONICA: Piz, that's fantastic!
PIZ: Yeah, I'd work with the most important critics in the business, see bands when they're on the verge of breaking, might even get to do a few reviews myself, so I can really get my snob on. Their offices are in New York, which could be cool, right?
VERONICA: Supercool, you lucky dog!

Veronica hits him on the arm.

PIZ: Twelve weeks in the Big Apple.
VERONICA: Everything's coming up Piznarski.

She laughs and hugs him.

INT - SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT - DAY.

Sacks sets down the phone at his desk before walking into Keith's office.

SACKS: Sheriff?

Keith looks up a little impatiently, looking frustrated.

SACKS: Veronica's on the phone.
KEITH: Thanks.

Keith picks up the phone.

VERONICA: [on phone] Ninety-five.
KEITH: You passed.
VERONICA: [on phone and excited] Yeah, I passed.

INT - MARS INVESTIGATIONS - CONTINUING.

Veronica is sitting in Keith's chair with her feet up on the desk. She is enjoying lording it over him.

VERONICA: And I beat your score by two points. But don't worry, Dad. I'll still lob in...

INT - SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT - CONTINUING.

VERONICA: [on phone] ...the token call from time to time asking for advice, thereby validating your existence.
KEITH: Honey?

INT - MARS INVESTIGATIONS - CONTINUING.

VERONICA: Yeah?
KEITH: [on phone] I made a ninety-seven.

Veronica's smugness evaporates and her grin disappears. It returns as she clutches at straws.

VERONICA: It's beneath you to lie to me in this, my finest hour.
KEITH: [on phone] Are you at your desk?
VERONICA: No.

INT - SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT - CONTINUING.

KEITH: Are you at my desk?

INT - MARS INVESTIGATIONS - CONTINUING.

Veronica takes a moment to admit to this.

VERONICA: Yes.
KEITH: [on phone] Then this will be easy.

INT - SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT - CONTINUING.

KEITH: Pull out my middle drawer.

INT - MARS INVESTIGATIONS - CONTINUING.

KEITH: [on phone] I had a feeling this moment would come.

Veronica sits up and opens the middle drawer of the desk. There is a completed State of California Private Investigation Certification Test. Keith's name is on the bottom right hand side. On the bottom left hand side, in a box for office use only, is the number 97 in thick red ink.

KEITH: [on phone] You see it there? VERONICA: [reluctantly] Yep. KEITH: [on phone] Sweetie, maybe you should go sit back down...

INT - SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT - CONTINUING.

KEITH: ...at the receptionist's desk.

INT - MARS INVESTIGATIONS - CONTINUING.

Veronica is saved from further humiliation by the sound of a bell as another call comes in on the office phone.

VERONICA: Got to go. Duty calls.

Veronica cuts off the call with Keith and presses for the other call.

VERONICA: Mars Investigations. Detective Mars speaking.
KIZZA: [on phone] Yes, I believe I have discovered a son I never knew I had.

Veronica reaches for a small notepad.

VERONICA: Okay, and you'd like us to track this boy down?
KIZZA: [on phone] No, I know where he is. I want proof he's, in fact, my son. His name is Apollo. Apollo Bukenya.

Opening credits.

EXT - HEARST COLLEGE - NIGHT.

A couple of random students walk past the main building.

WALLACE: [offscreen] There was no struggle...

INT - HEARST COLLEGE, BENES HALL, WALLACE AND PIZ'S DORM ROOM - DAY.

Wallace, lying on his stomach on his bed, his head at the foot end, is reading aloud from Apollo's book.

WALLACE: ...no protest, no crying. She just told me to go with the soldiers. I can't imagine how afraid for me she must have been.

Veronica is sitting at his desk chair, her feet on his bed near his head.

WALLACE: I never saw my mother again.

Wallace closes the book, deeply moved by what he has read.

VERONICA: So imagine what it'll mean if I can reunite him with the father he's never met.

Wallace looks sceptical.

VERONICA: What?
WALLACE: It's like the NBA. Fatherless boy makes good, the dough starts rolling in, and here comes long-lost daddy expecting a payday.
VERONICA: It's not the same thing.
WALLACE: The world is upside down. Veronica Mars wants to believe in miracles, and I'm the cynical one.
VERONICA: It's not like he can lie about it. There will be a paternity test.
WALLACE: So what are you gonna do? Steal a DNA sample from Apollo?
VERONICA: Kizza doesn't want me to steal anything. He doesn't even want Apollo told about the possibility until he's more certain they're father and son.
WALLACE: So how are you supposed to prove it?
VERONICA: He emailed me a PDF of a letter he has from a woman he claims is Apollo's mother. So if I can get a look at anything Apollo might have with his mom's handwriting-
WALLACE: Maybe you can make miracles happen.

Wallace sits up, grabbing a basketball.

WALLACE: So, how does it feel to be a professional detective?
VERONICA: Great. Know how much I'm making on my first professional case?

Veronica rises and goes to collect her bag.

VERONICA: Nada. Guess he's scraped just enough together for a cheap plane ticket if the news is good. He had to email me the letter from a Kinko's. I have to wait on his daily calls from the pay phone in his New York boarding house.
WALLACE: Yeah, that's not a guy looking for a payday.

Veronica dismisses the pessimism with a smile and glances back at Piz's part of the room.

VERONICA: Tell your roommate I came by hoping to kill time between classes, getting to second base with someone, then left unsatisfied.

Wallace picks up the book again.

WALLACE: He's a good guy, Veronica. Try not to rip out his heart.

Veronica, oblivious as to the problem, gives him a quizzical tilt of the head. She then dismisses that concern too and heads for the door.

INT - SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT - DAY.

A man sits sullenly in one of the interrogation rooms.

KEITH: Tommy, I'm curious. How is it that you found yourself in possession of jewellery reported stolen from two separate homes?

Keith is sitting on the other side of the table. A beefy deputy is standing behind him.

KEITH: The owner of Brody's Pawn said you were quite anxious to unload said merchandise.

Tommy is about to speak when a voice booms.

CLIFF: Don't answer that.

Cliff is leaning against the wall near the corner of the room, on Tommy's side of the table. Keith glances up at him. Cliff shrugs.

KEITH: Can you tell me where you were two nights ago between nine and eleven?
CLIFF: Don't answer that.
KEITH: I was so fond of you when I was a private detective.
CLIFF: Then I hope you'll understand why you shouldn't expect my vote in the upcoming election?

Keith sighs deeply.

KEITH: The break-ins were professional jobs, top-flight security systems disabled.

Tommy nods smugly.

KEITH: Try not to be offended, Tommy, when I suggest that perhaps you are not the leader of the crew.

Cliff smirks.

KEITH: You mind telling me who is?

Feeling cocky, Tommy leans back, putting his hands on the back of his head and in doing so, the short sleeves of his t-shirt reveal a tattoo on the underside of his right arm. The tattoo is of a shamrock.

TOMMY: Why don't you just put me back in my cell, let me know when the bail bondsman gets here?

Keith stares at the tattoo.

KEITH: Anxious to get back to the River Styx, Tommy?

Tommy glances at his tattoo and realises his mistake. He puts his arms down slowly. Keith glances at Cliff.

KEITH: Mr. Shaw here works with the Fitzpatricks.

Cliff does an eyebrow shrug as Keith rises from his seat.

KEITH: I got what I needed. Deputy, take our friend back to the cell he enjoys so much.

Keith leaves the room.

EXT - HEARST COLLEGE - DAY.

Veronica paces, waiting for a class to finish. The door opens and students come flooding out onto one of the college's many porticoes. Apollo exits, holding hands with a girl. Veronica spots him and calls out.

VERONICA: Hi, Apollo?

Apollo and his girlfriend turn to face Veronica.

VERONICA: Um, I'm Veronica Mars. I'm a reporter for the Hearst Free Press. We met at your radio interview, and I'm hoping to do a story on you, too.

Apollo looks fed up but his girlfriend hugs his arm gently.

OLYMPIA: You wrote the book so people would know what's happening there.
APOLLO: I know.

He looks back at Veronica.

APOLLO: Sure. I've got some time later today. Does that work for you?

Veronica nods and smiles.

VERONICA: Mm-hmm.

INT - HEARST COLLEGE, FOOD COURT - DAY.

Logan is very uncomfortable having lunch with Parker and her parents.

MR. LEE: My point is that white flour is essentially poison. You'll see. Couple weeks, you'll be home eating with us. You'll feel like a new person.
PARKER: I don't know. I rely pretty heavily on my morning bagel.
MR. LEE: Which is exactly why you need to be without it. Oh, and I was able to pull a few strings and get you that job in the mailroom I was telling you about.
MRS. LEE: [sharply] Parker!

Parker's eye jerk to her mother.

MRS. LEE: Elbows!

Parker slides her elbows off the table.

MR. LEE: It's only for a few weeks but it's enough for you to make some spending money before we leave for your Aunt Louise's. PARKER: Thanks, Dad, but I was thinking of looking for a job, like, at a-a day-care or something. MR. LEE: So you can spend the summer with a cold and ruin everyone's vacation? I don't think so. So, Logan.

Under the spotlight, Logan freezes.

MR. LEE: What sort of career are you pursuing?

Logan doesn't immediately respond.

INT - HEARST COLLEGE, APOLLO AND HARRY'S DORM ROOM - DAY.

As Veronica reaches the door to Apollo's and prepares to knock, an English guy exits the room. This is Harry, Apollo's roommate.

HARRY: Oh, sorry. Were you about to-
VERONICA: Yeah.

He calls into the room.

HARRY: Apollo, you've got a visitor.

He goes on his way and Veronica steps into the room.

VERONICA: Hi.

Apollo is on the couch in the room, using the controls of a video game.

APOLLO: Come in. Take a seat.

Veronica shuts the door and takes a seat on the chair next to the couch. There's a Union Jack hanging on the wall on Harry's side of the room. Veronica looks at the television screen at what Apollo is playing.

APOLLO: Oh!

Apollo vents his anguish at the game.

APOLLO: Please don't lead your story on how I like to play Grand Theft Auto. Make me sound less frivolous.

Veronica chuckles. Cut to later as Veronica listens to Apollo's story.

APOLLO: Sometimes we'd be sent on waves where the tactic was to overpower our enemies through sheer weight of numbers. We were divided into two units and given drugs to ready us to fight.

Veronica makes a brief note but is soon so captivated by his story that she drops the pretence of doing so.

APOLLO: I would make myself vomit up the drugs, then convince the two leaders I was going to be in the other's unit. Instead, I'd hide in the bush and blend in with the returning fighters. To stay alive, one had to think quickly. What's that Survivor slogan? "Outwit, outplay, outlast"? I was a survivor.

Apollo notices that Veronica is hypnotised.

APOLLO: Now, Veronica, did you have more questions?

It takes Veronica a moment to collect herself.

VERONICA: Um. Uh.

She covers by consulting her notes.

VERONICA: Let's talk about the days before your conscription.

INT - NEPTUNE GRAND HOTEL, LOGAN'S SUITE - DAY.

Parker collapses onto the couch happily.

LOGAN: I really think they liked me.
PARKER: Yeah, I don't really think you survived the Googling.

She giggles. Logan bends down and lifts her as he sits down and settles her on his lap.

PARKER: Is it wrong that I'd rather be trampled by horses than spend the summer with my parents?
LOGAN: No, the horses are a much better option.

He kisses her as she giggles again. Parker sighs.

PARKER: What else am I gonna do? I didn't sign up for classes or request any summer housing.
LOGAN: Hm, you could stay here.

Parker is taken aback, although pleasantly so.

PARKER: I'm sorry. I'm a little stunned.

Logan smiles, a little confused.

PARKER: That is so sweet. It's just...moving in, that's kind of a big step.
LOGAN: Oh, I meant you could stay here. I'll be gone most of the summer, so you'd have the whole place to yourself.
PARKER: Where are you going?
LOGAN: Going to South America to surf with Dick.
PARKER: For the whole summer?
LOGAN: Yeah, you were going home to Denver.
PARKER: Yeah, which is a two-hour flight from here.

Parker, no longer jolly, slides off of Logan's lap.

PARKER: I thought we'd see each other.
LOGAN: Hey, I'm sorry. I've been planning this thing with Dick for a while.
PARKER: I don't understand where we're at if you're not gonna see me for three months and that's cool with you.

Logan shrugs.

LOGAN: It's not cool with me. I just didn't think about it. You know, it's a surf trip, Parker. It has nothing to do with us.

Parker's mileage clearly varies.

INT - HEARST COLLEGE, APOLLO AND HARRY'S DORM ROOM - DAY.

Veronica is still captivated by Apollo's story.

APOLLO: The day I was kidnapped, my mother couldn't really put up a fight for me without risking others' lives. But later that night, she came to the camp to beg my captors to give me back to her. I wasn't there. This is just what my best friend, James, told me. Um, and when they saw that James knew my mother, they made him shoot her.

Veronica is genuinely moved by the horror, her eyes wet with unshed tears.

VERONICA: I'm so sorry.

Apollo stares at her with his liquid brown but dry eyes. Veronica clears her throat.

VERONICA: Do you have anything from her: pictures, personal items, mementos?
APOLLO: The day I was captured, my mother sent me to the market. I carried the shopping list in my pocket for years.
VERONICA: Do you still have it?

Apollo gets up and walks over to his desk. He lifts his keyboard and takes a slip of paper, now laminated, from under it. He hands it to Veronica. Veronica examines it as Apollo sits back down.

VERONICA: Do you mind if I move into better light?

He nods and Veronica takes it to the window. She slips a copy of the PDF file from her papers and compares the writing.

VERONICA VOICEOVER: A perfect match.

INT - HEARST COLLEGE - DAY.

There's another establishing shot of the college in the day time, so we're still in the same day.

INT - HEARST COLLEGE, LIBRARY - DAY.

Veronica's at her desk in the library. Parker is standing in front of the desk.

PARKER: You're sure this doesn't bother you to talk about? VERONICA: Positive. PARKER: Logan's going surfing in South America for the whole summer.

Veronica grimaces before reaching back to grab a book from behind her. She busies herself with it.

PARKER: Never mentioned it. The whole summer. What is that? Is that how he is, or is that just how he is with me?
VERONICA: It-it's kind of just...how he is.
PARKER: Why is that not more comforting?

Veronica finishes whatever she is doing on the book and places it back behind her.

VERONICA: So, Mac's not around to talk about this stuff?
PARKER: Mac's fallen into the black hole of new love.

Parker smirks.

PARKER: She only comes up for air.

Veronica cocks her head.

INT - HEARST COLLEGE, MAX'S DORM ROOM - DAY.

Mac, wearing a shirt and short skirt, opens the door to Max's room to a pizza delivery guy. Max is on the bed, glasses off, yawning.

PIZZA GUY: How you guys doing?
MAC: I'm wearing a different shirt, just so you know.
PIZZA GUY: Uh-huh.

He smirks. Mac hands the guy his money.

MAC: Keep it.

He hands over the pizza and smirks at Max who gives him a gun click. He grins and leaves. Mac shuts the door and sighs. She sinks down onto the bed.

MAC: I have to, have to, have to go to my morning classes tomorrow.

Max takes out a large piece of pizza.

MAC: Getting lost in the sex-nap-eat-repeat loop. I'm in the porn version of Groundhog Day.
MAX: Poundhog Day?

They chuckle.

MAC: When's the last time you went to class?
MAX: Uh, February.
MAC: Are you kidding?
MAX: Business has been booming. My classes have kind of fallen by the wayside.
MAC: So now begins the eleventh-hour cram session.
MAX: No, no, no, no, no, I'm done. The countdown to my expulsion has begun. Frankly, it's liberating.

He takes a bite of his pizza, ignoring the look of horror on Mac's face.

MAX: Mmm.

He does a "comme ci, comme ca" gesture with his hand regarding the pizza. Mac stares at him a moment longer, and then shakes her head.

INT - HEARST COLLEGE, LIBRARY - DAY.

Using a name on a post-it note, Veronica finds a book on one of the bookshelves and pulls it out. She bends down to the next shelf for another but pauses on seeing Logan on the other side.

VERONICA: You were just waiting for me to start pulling out books?

Veronica takes the book from the shelf.

LOGAN: No, I'm just browsing.

She grabs another.

VERONICA: Boning up on your South American culture? Conversational Portuguese, perhaps? If you're gonna be that close to Rio- LOGAN: How do you know about my trip? VERONICA: Parker mentioned it.

Veronica straightens and heads for the help desk. Logan, a book in hand, follows her.

LOGAN: Did my fan club meet today? Thought you guys only met on Wednesdays.

They each place their books on the help desk.

VERONICA: Look, she was bummed you didn't tell her about the trip.
LOGAN: And you took turns sticking pins in your Logan dolls?

Veronica picks up Logan's book.

VERONICA: No, I told her that's just how you are.

Veronica walks off to go around the desk, leaving Logan unhappily contemplative.

INT - HEARST COLLEGE, FOOD COURT - DAY.

Veronica is doing her own quiet contemplation as she eats. Piz heads for her table carrying two bottles of drink. He bangs them down on the table, startling her.

PIZ: Crack her open. We're celebrating. I was offered another internship.

Veronica reaches over for one of the drinks.

VERONICA: People are just falling all over themselves to not pay you.
PIZ: It's a good feeling. So, this one is at a radio station, KRAQ, right here in Neptune.

Veronica nods.

VERONICA: All right.
PIZ: It's not glamorous as the Pitchfork gig, and it's Top 40, which makes my parts hurt, but it's radio. I don't know. I mean, Pitchfork is music I'm into. It's New York, which is-which is good.

Veronica nods again.

PIZ: And bad.

He waits for her to agree about the bad and is briefly disappointed when she carries on oblivious.

VERONICA: What do you want to end up doing, like, in the long run?

He shrugs.

PIZ: I want to be in radio.

She reaches out to touch his hand.

VERONICA: Then you should take whatever internship will get you there.

He smiles and nods. Veronica's cell phone rings. She picks it up from the table and answers it.

VERONICA: Hello?

Piz watches her intently.

VERONICA: Kizza, good news. Can you catch the red-eye?

EXT - HEARST COLLEGE - DAY.

As she walks under one of the porticos, Veronica uses her cell phone again.

VERONICA: Hi, Apollo, it's Veronica. I've got something else I need to talk to you about. APOLLO: [on phone] Yeah, Veronica, glad you called.

INT - HEARST COLLEGE, LIBRARY - CONTINUING.

Apollo is sitting at one of the library tables.

APOLLO: I wanted to talk to you, too. Could you come meet me at the library?

EXT - HEARST COLLEGE - CONTINUING.

Veronica nods into the phone (!) and heads towards the library.

INT - SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT - DAY.

Liam Fitzpatrick saunters into Keith's office.

LIAM: Sheriff Mars, as I live and breath.

Keith, standing over by his printer, turns to face him.

KEITH: Liam. Thanks for stopping by.

Liam holds out his arms wide.

LIAM: Well, the deputy you sent asked so politely.

Keith points to the chair opposite his desk.

KEITH: Please take a seat.

Liam glances around and then heads for and takes the seat.

LIAM: Good. Good.

Keith sits down at his desk. Prominent on the desk is a large framed picture of Veronica, facing Keith.

KEITH: I had one of your boys in here earlier, Tommy Shaw. He was trying to unload goods stolen from this string of burglaries.
LIAM: How is Tommy doing these days? I don't think I've seen that boy since his mother's wake back in '05.
KEITH: You're working on a third strike, Liam. You might consider quitting while you're ahead.
LIAM: Keith, we both know my trip down here wouldn't have been voluntary if you had anything.
KEITH: Nothing yet, but I'm gonna keep picking off your flunkies. Eventually, one of them is gonna trade me ten years for your name. And a word of caution: Don Lamb's no longer in charge here.
LIAM: You speaking ill of the dead, Keith? Wow, 'cause, uh, from what I understand, this crime wave doesn't let up, you won't be in charge long either.

Liam grunts a request for permission before picking up the picture and turning it to gaze at Veronica. Keith tenses.

LIAM: 'Course, maybe these robberies will stop if I, uh...

He puts the picture back on the desk.

LIAM: ...find out what happened to Kendall Casablancas and my money.

Keith jerks up from his chair and grabs the picture, placing it closer to him and out of Liam's reach.

KEITH: Kendall's dead, and I suspect your brother buried her in a shallow grave in the desert. As for the money, it was never yours.

Liam clucks, smiling. He gets up and slaps his thighs. He stares at Keith with a smirk.

LIAM: Wouldn't bother unpacking.

Keith watches him walk out.

INT - HEARST COLLEGE, LIBRARY - DAY.

Veronica heads confidently into the library area where she is meeting Apollo. Her steps falter.

APOLLO: Veronica, glad you can make it.

There is another person sitting with Apollo with his back to her.

APOLLO: There's someone I want you to meet.

The guy turns. It's someone she knows. She slowly comes to a halt.

APOLLO: This is Wilson Behan, editor of The Free Press. He requested an interview.
WILSON: Hey, Veronica. I don't remember assigning you to do a story on Apollo.

Apollo gives her a challenging look. Veronica returns a tight, guilty grin before sighing. Wilson rises from the table. He walks to and faces Veronica.

WILSON: Well, I'm gonna let you two sort this out.

Wilson exits. Apollo stares at her expectantly. She creeps towards the table and takes the seat vacated by Wilson.

VERONICA: All right, I wasn't assigned to you by the school paper. The truth is, I work as a private investigator, and I was hired by a man who believes he's your father.

Apollo is puzzled.

APOLLO: Who is he?
VERONICA: His name is Kizza Oneko. He had this.

Veronica retrieves Kizza's letter from her bag.

VERONICA: It's a letter telling Kizza to take an opportunity to leave Uganda for America.

She lays it on the table in front of him. He picks it up and stares at it.

VERONICA: The war had separated them. Kizza says he left not knowing your mother was pregnant. Recognize the handwriting?

Apollo refolds the letter.

APOLLO: The grocery list I showed you, my hometown paper printed it. This Kizza person simply forged this.
VERONICA: We'll prove his paternity one way or the other with a blood test.
APOLLO: [firmly] No, we won't.

Apollo puts his stuff in his bag, gets up and walks away without another word.

EXT - HEARST COLLEGE - NIGHT.

Veronica and Mac are walking together across the campus.

MAC: It's not the ethics of what Max is doing that bothers me. At least I can rationalise that away, 'cause I had it filed away in my head as a college lark, a unique way for a philosophy major to make some extra cash. And in its own way, it showed all these qualities I admire. He's dedicated, he's got a keen business sense...

Veronica nods.

MAC: And, let's face it, he's-he's good at what he does.
VERONICA: Help people cheat.
MAC: Yeah, that. But today, when he said he was flunking out of school and he didn't care, he was just gonna get an off-campus apartment next year and keep doing what he does, it was like looking into a crystal ball, and I didn't like what I saw.
VERONICA: What did you see?
MAC: Me falling completely in love with him, losing all reason, ending up hosting candle parties and selling family heirlooms on eBay. I have the potential to go down that road.

Veronica shakes her head reassuringly.

VERONICA: No, you don't.
MAC: I do. Love makes me lazy. It's a dangerous drug. Kills more brain cells than crystal meth. How's your cell count these days?
VERONICA: Mmm, I can still do long division, but I can't quite remember all the continents.
MAC: So Pizneyland is the happiest place on earth?
VERONICA: Happy enough. There's no roller coaster, but I think I can do without the adrenaline and nausea.
MAC: Hmm.

INT - MARS INVESTIGATIONS - DAY.

Veronica is on the phone at her desk — the reception desk.

VERONICA: Hi, it's Veronica Mars. Um, I'm trying to track down Apollo. I've left several...

INT - HEARST COLLEGE, APOLLO AND HARRY'S DORM ROOM - CONTINUING.

She is talking to Apollo's roommate, Harry.

VERONICA: [on phone] ...messages on his cell phone.
HARRY: Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah, he hasn't been around.

INT - MARS INVESTIGATIONS - CONTINUING.

VERONICA: Any idea where he might be? HARRY: [on phone] Olympia's, maybe?

INT - HEARST COLLEGE, APOLLO AND HARRY'S DORM ROOM - CONTINUING.

HARRY: Oh, you know who might know is, uh, Zeke Molinda.

INT - MARS INVESTIGATIONS - CONTINUING.

Veronica, who is using a novelty pen which is topped with a small stuffed animal — something of a cross between Garfield and Tigger, with a long, curling tail — writes down the name.

HARRY: [on phone] He's one of the guys from the African Student Alliance. Oh, wait, you know what? I don't think they're even speaking anymore.

INT - HEARST COLLEGE, APOLLO AND HARRY'S DORM ROOM - CONTINUING.

HARRY: They had some sort of falling out. Uh, have you checked with Dr. Tonin?

INT - MARS INVESTIGATIONS - CONTINUING.

HARRY: [on phone] I mean, she's practically his mum.

Veronica looks up as the door opens and a man walks in.

VERONICA: Uh, that'll get me started. Thanks. Bye.

Veronica puts down the phone and looks up at the man.

VERONICA: You must be Kizza. KIZZA: Yes, uh, I'm looking for Detective Mars. VERONICA: I'm Detective Mars. KIZZA: You're just a girl. You're a-you're a teenager. VERONICA: A girl, a teenager, and a private detective. I'm a triple threat. Barely fits on my business card. KIZZA: [distressed and disbelieving] You are the person who's arranging the meeting with my son? VERONICA: I am. Unfortunately, your son isn't as available as I thought he would be. I'm having a little trouble locating him right now, but I have several leads.

As Veronica says "several leads," she uses the pen for emphasis. Kizza stares at the unreassuring ridiculousness of it. Veronica follows his stare and realises her mistake. She wraps her hand around the animal and bends it down, then straightens her back to sit taller in a futile attempt to improve the impression she is making.

INT - SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT - DAY.

Under the stare of a man with his hands on his hips, Keith gets himself a drink from a vending machine.

CARL: We've been pretty vocal supporters of your candidacy, Keith. It's becoming more difficult. There are others at the Homeowners Association suggesting we should bring in Mr. Van Lowe, see what he's all about.

Keith bends and retrieves a can from the dispenser.

KEITH: I appreciate the heads-up, Carl.

Keith heads back into the department. Carl follows.

KEITH: I think we're on the right track, but it may take some time. CARL: Nah, the election's in two weeks. You don't have time.

Sacks hands him a report.

SACKS: Here's the data you asked for, Keith.

Keith scans it as Carl watches him.

KEITH: What kind of home-security system you got, Carl?
CARL: Safehouse.
KEITH: You might want to replace it.

Carl cocks his head quizzically.

EXT - HEARST COLLEGE - DAY.

Parker is striding through the campus. Logan races up from behind her.

LOGAN: Hey, can we talk for a second?

Parker hurries on dismissively, still pissed off with him.

PARKER: I have a class. I don't want to get into a whole thing.

Logan keeps pace with her.

LOGAN: There's no whole thing. I want to talk to you...about the surf trip.

Parker comes to an abrupt halt and he turns back to face her.

PARKER: Fine. Kissing is cheating, and what I don't know will hurt me.

Logan smiles.

LOGAN: You should come with me. PARKER: [incredulous] You want me to come to South America with you and Dick? LOGAN: Hey, I meant it when I said that I didn't think about being away from you for three months. And...now I have. I have to process things, you know, it's just what I'm like.

Parker is ecstatic and throws herself at him.

PARKER: Oh, my God!

Logan hugs her but his face shows that he's really not convinced this is a good idea. Elsewhere on campus, Veronica waits under another portico. She leaps forward as Olympia walks towards her.

VERONICA: Olympia, you wouldn't happen to know where I might find Apollo?
OLYMPIA: I know he's avoiding you. Veronica, I think he should meet the guy, get tested. If I see him again, I'll keep working on him.

Veronica clasps her hands together in a begging motion before hurrying away.

INT - HEARST COLLEGE, DR. TONIN'S OFFICE - DAY.

Dr. Tonin addresses Veronica as she fingers through one of her filing cabinets.

DR. TONIN: I wish I could help you. To tell you the truth, I'm starting to worry about him. Will you let me know if you find him?

Veronica nods unhappily before turning to leave the office.

EXT - HEARST COLLEGE - DAY.

Veronica is back at the job fair, which seems busier than it was earlier. She finds the stall for the African Students Alliance. The person working on the stall is just finishing with one enquiry. On the table at the front of the stall are displayed a number of books.

VERONICA: Hi, Zeke? ZEKE: Yes. VERONICA: I'm Veronica. I'm trying to find Apollo Bukenya. ZEKE: You're looking in the wrong place. We don't talk anymore. VERONICA: I heard. This is kind of last-ditch. Sorry to bother you.

She turns to leave.

ZEKE: What do you need him for?
VERONICA: I'm doing a story on him.

Zeke bends forward, resting his hands on the table and drops his voice.

ZEKE: In that case, I've got your lead. He didn't write Soldier of Misfortune. His adviser did. He knows it, and he knows I know it.
VERONICA: So Apollo told his adviser the story of his life, and she wrote the book?
ZEKE: Not exactly. The stories in Apollo's book are true for many others. They simply didn't happen to him.

Veronica's eyes widen.

ZEKE: He was never conscripted.

Veronica is shocked. Cut to later and elsewhere on campus to show it's still day.

INT - HEARST COLLEGE, BENES HALL, WALLACE AND PIZ'S DORM ROOM - DAY.

Veronica sits on Piz's bed.

VERONICA: Zeke was Apollo's roommate freshman year. He says Apollo told him all about his life, but until Soldier of Misfortune came out, never included anything about being a child soldier in the LRA.

Wallace is at his desk, thoughtful.

VERONICA: So what should I do?

Wallace pushes back so his chair rolls further into the room and puts him in direct eye contact with Veronica.

WALLACE: I don't know. Nothing?

Veronica gives him a WTF!? look.

WALLACE: I'm serious, Veronica. It's a fact that there are child soldiers in Africa.

Wallace gets up and walks towards her, picking up some leaflets from his desk as he does.

WALLACE: There's this organisation, Invisible Children...

She scoots along the bed so Wallace can sit beside her and hand her the leaflets.

WALLACE: ...that sends volunteers over to Uganda to help protect the kids there. They have a booth up at the job fair. There was a crowd around it today about five people deep.
VERONICA: I think I'm missing the point.
WALLACE: Everyone is there because of Apollo's book. If you expose his book as a hoax, I promise you'll be killing a lot more than his literary career.

Veronica's cell phone rings. Wallace goes back to his desk as Veronica answers it.

VERONICA: Hello?
OLYMPIA: [on phone] Veronica, hi, it's Olympia. I just saw Apollo. He's heading back to his room. I think he's ready to talk.

INT - HEARST COLLEGE, APOLLO AND HARRY'S DORM ROOM - DAY.

Veronica walks along the corridor outside, heading for Apollo's room. As she reaches the open door, she sees and hears Apollo on the phone.

APOLLO: [agitated] No. No! Are you kidding me? What about the first check? But I've already-

Veronica pulls back a little to avoid interrupting him, but does not stop eavesdropping.

APOLLO: So they're just gonna pull the plug, just like that? Fine, fine. I have lawyers, too.

Apollo ends the call and stares at the ceiling.

VERONICA: Sorry. Is this a bad time?
APOLLO: No. No, now is fine. Just give me a second to take my laundry out of the machine before someone steals it.

Veronica walks into the room.

VERONICA: I can wait.

Apollo grabs a laundry basket and leaves. As soon as he's out of sight, Veronica saunters towards the phone.

VERONICA VOICEOVER: "Pull the plug," lawyers, checks? To whom, pray tell, was the young Mr. Bukenya speaking?

She glances out into the corridor to check for Apollo before picking up the phone.

VERONICA VOICEOVER: Hit redial.

Veronica does and puts the phone to her ear.

WOMAN: [on phone] Silver Pictures.

Veronica terminates the call quickly.

VERONICA VOICEOVER: Looks like Soldier of Misfortune won't be coming to a theatre near you.

Veronica thoughtfully replaces the phone on the table just as Apollo returns.

APOLLO: This man who claims to be my father, Olympia convinced me. I want to meet him. I'll take the blood test.
VERONICA: I'll arrange it.

INT - NEPTUNE GRAND HOTEL, LOGAN'S SUITE - NIGHT.

Dick marches into the suite heading directly to his room.

CASABLANCAS: [offscreen] Hello, son.

Dick freezes. He turns slowly as Big Dick comes into the suite from the balcony.

DICK: Dad? What, they just let you in my room?
CASABLANCAS: Well, I am paying for it, after all.
DICK: Really? I thought hundreds of saps who invested in your company were paying for it. I feel better about myself already.

Big Dick walks slowly towards him.

CASABLANCAS: I, uh...I turned myself in. My lawyer made all the arrangements. I have a couple months before my incarceration. Uh, tired of running, Dick. I want to pay my debt to society and get it over with.
DICK: And what kind of debt did your lawyer negotiate?
CASABLANCAS: A year.

Dick snorts, much to Big Dick's chagrin.

DICK: That's exactly what this biker I went to high school with got for stealing the Huntingtons' lawn jockey. It's good to be the king, huh?

Dick slaps his father in the arm, then turns to walk away from him, into the lounge area of the suite.

CASABLANCAS: [angry] You know, I'll consider our societal flaws during my yard time in the big house.

He sighs and walks towards his son again.

CASABLANCAS: Look, I turn myself in at the end of August but...at least we have a few months before then. I've rented a room a couple floors down. I want to spend as much time as possible with you.
DICK: I'm gonna be gone most of the summer. I'm going on this surf trip-
CASABLANCAS: [incredulous] Surf trip? I'm going to jail, Dick.
DICK: I know. I'm sorry. I just-
CASABLANCAS: [furious] This is the only chance you have to be with your father, and you're talking about a surf trip?

Dick is nonplussed.

INT - MARS INVESTIGATIONS - NIGHT.

Kizza is sitting on the small couch in the outer office.

KIZZA: Silver Pictures? What is Silver Pictures?

Veronica is standing behind her desk.

VERONICA: It's a company that makes movies.

She walks forward slowly, coming to rest against the front edge of the desk.

VERONICA: My point is...there's not going to be a movie of Soldier of Misfortune. There's not going to be a big cheque. I suspect Oprah may tear Apollo a new one on national TV. KIZZA: What does Oprah have to do with- VERONICA: Mr. Oneko, if you tracked down Apollo in hopes of finding financial security, I'm urging you to simply walk away. He needs people around him who care about him. If that's not you, I can't let- KIZZA: [emotionally] Miss Mars, had it not been for the war, I never would have left Uganda. I came to New York, a place where I had no friends, no family, as a means of survival. I'm still alive, but I've been alone for twenty-one years. I drive a cab.

He rises.

KIZZA: I go to school. But I am lonely. If this is my son, please, let me be there to comfort him in this difficult time.

Veronica nods, barely.

INT - MARS INVESTIGATIONS - DAY.

Blood is being taken from Apollo's arm. As the medic finishes, Apollo, sitting in a chair in the middle of Keith's office, looks up at Veronica who is standing at the window, keeping a worried lookout and fingering her necklace.

APOLLO: I don't think he's coming.
VERONICA: He'll be here.

Sceptical, Apollo leans back in his chair. Veronica returns her attention to the window.

INT - SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT - DAY.

Vinnie, in a dark suit, is touring the office.

VINNIE: You ever notice how the stained wood around the window has the effect of shrinking the space?

Keith follows him, arms folded across his chest.

VINNIE: I'm-I'm thinking something more of an eggshell would really open it up in here. I should probably write that down.

Vinnie reaches into his jacket pocket. He pulls out a pad and pen.

VINNIE: Anyway, what can I do for you, Keith?
KEITH: I don't suppose, Vinnie, you've noticed, that there's a criminal element in town that would really love to see you as sheriff.

Vinnie returns the pad and pen to his pocket.

VINNIE: Oh, what can I say? I'm a walking big tent party. Must be why the girls from the secretarial pool gave me that nickname.
KEITH: What do you know about Safehouse Security Systems?

Vinnie ignore the question, instead slapping Sacks, who is sitting at his desk where they have stopped, on the back.

VINNIE: Hey, Sacksy? Mind running out and getting a latte?

Sacks is grossly offended and glances at Keith.

VINNIE: I can have him get you something, as well.

Vinnie sets off again but Keith persists.

KEITH: Safehouse?
VINNIE: Yeah, I did some consulting work for them.
KEITH: You did.
VINNIE: Mmm-hmm.
KEITH: Did you know that all seven homes that have been burglarised subscribe to Safehouse?

Vinnie whistles.

VINNIE: Quite a co-inkydink.

Keith gets in Vinnie's face.

KEITH: You and the Fitzpatricks are the prime beneficiaries of those robberies. I think you're colluding with them.

Vinnie chuckles in a really slimy way.

VINNIE: Well, Keith, you are certainly entitled to your theory. Question is...

He leans in and drops his voice.

VINNIE: Can you prove it?

Vinnie turns and walks away, clicking his fingers and leaving Keith standing with his hands on his hips.

INT - MARS INVESTIGATIONS - DAY.

Veronica and Apollo are still in Keith's office.

APOLLO: It's been an hour.

Veronica sighs deeply.

VERONICA: I'm so sorry, Apollo.
APOLLO: Sorry for what? I expect nothing, so I'm rarely disappointed. So, did you tell this Kizza person that I'm a fraud and that I won't be coming into money as all the articles say?
VERONICA: I told him there was that possibility.
APOLLO: Good.

Apollo lifts himself from the chair.

APOLLO: Thank you. You did your part.

Apollo walks out of Keith's office. Veronica follows him into the outer office.

VERONICA: What do you mean, my part?

Apollo turns to face her.

APOLLO: Soldier of Misfortune, the story is mine. I wrote every word of it. I needed to know whether this Kizza gentleman would show regardless of my stature and financial situation.

Veronica shakes her head.

VERONICA: So, everything I told him was-
APOLLO: Disinformation, a plan to separate those I can trust from those I can't, a plan like so many others. Zeke is actually a very good friend of mine.

Veronica is astonished that she's been played but before she can react, the office phone rings.

APOLLO: Take care.

She walks slowly to it as Apollo collects his jacket from the hat rack near the door.

VERONICA: Mars Investigations.
KEITH: [on phone] So, Veronica.

INT - SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT - CONTINUING.

Keith is at his desk.

KEITH: Why is there a detainee in my jail named Kizza Oneko...

INT - MARS INVESTIGATIONS - CONTINUING.

KEITH: [on phone]...who asks for his one phone call to be made to you?

Veronica gasps and calls out to Apollo.

VERONICA: Apollo, wait.

She returns her attention to the phone.

VERONICA: Why is he being detained?

INT - SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT - CONTINUING.

KEITH: He was picked up driving a rental with plates from a stolen car.

INT - MARS INVESTIGATIONS - CONTINUING.

Veronica smiles as Apollo watches her, bemused..

INT - SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT - DAY.

Kizza is in one of the interrogation rooms. He looks up as a deputy opens the door, letting in Veronica and Apollo. Kizza smiles broadly on seeing Apollo. He stands and takes a step towards him.

KIZZA: Apollo.

Apollo is less certain and holds his ground. Veronica watches silently from the wall by the door.

APOLLO: Mr. Oneko, I'm happy we have this chance to meet.
KIZZA: As am I. Overjoyed, in fact. I'm not surprised your mother named you for the god of music.

Apollo looks at him quizzically.

KIZZA: She had a book of mythology that she treasured.

Apollo is thrown back to his childhood.

APOLLO: I...I remember it well. It...it is the book she used to teach me how to read.

Apollo absorbs this and comes to realise the possibility.

APOLLO: Father?

Kizza steps forward and takes Apollo in his arms. Apollo sobs. Kizza is ecstatic. He pulls back, keeping his hands on Apollo's arms.

KIZZA: Would you like to hear about your mother as the young girl that I fell in love with?

Apollo manages to nod. Veronica's eyes are heavy with unshed tears as she smiles.

EXT - HEARST COLLEGE - DAY.

The job fair is still going strong. At the Invisible Children stall, as two volunteers deal with one query, a different volunteer is addressing another.

VOLUNTEER: You sure you want to do this? It's quite a commitment, and Africa's a long way away.

An application form is passes over the counter. It's Wallace.

WALLACE: I'm positive.
VOLUNTEER: Okay.

Wallace smiles, happy and confident in his summer plans.

INT - HEARST COLLEGE, MAX'S DORM ROOM - DAY.

Max is hard at work (or whatever) at the computer in his room. He looks up as the door opens and Mac enters.

MAC: I come with tales from the outside world.
MAX: Hey.

He leaps up and kisses her.

MAC: Oh, and, uh, I brought these for you.

Mac hand him a load of leaflets. Max takes them without enthusiasm.

MAC: I was passing through the job fair, and, um, apparently, there are careers that a philosophy degree prepares you for, so just thought I'd grab them, just in case.
MAX: I guess we need to talk about this, huh?
MAC: Yeah, maybe.
MAX: Here's the thing. I make about fifteen hundred a week doing something I like. I'm gonna be doing this for a while.

Mac nods, her face tight.

MAX: Not forever, but for a while. I hope that doesn't change things for you.
MAC: I wish that it didn't, but it kind of does.
MAX: Well, that sucks.

Max walks away and throws the leaflets on the bed.

MAC: Yeah, but I'm not sure how much it changes things. I want us to keep seeing each other.
MAX: Well, great.
MAC: Just can't do the blissful love-shack thing anymore. I need to get back to my regularly scheduled life. Is that cool?
MAX: So, do you have to get back to reality now or...

Mac laughs.

MAC: No. No, I got a couple hours. MAX: Good.

Mac, grinning, looks at him questioningly. Max makes his hands into bull horns and places them on the side of his head. He snorts and Mac laughs. Max starts to paw the ground. Mac giggles as Max charges at her. She slips aside and he chases her, grabbing her by the bed where they both tumble on to and over the other side of the bed.

MAC: Aah! Aah!

They land on the floor.

INT - NEPTUNE GRAND HOTEL, BIG DICK'S ROOM - DAY.

Big Dick is at one of his suitcases, putting in or taking out a pair of shoes. He looks up at a knock on the door. He walks over and opens the door. Dick marches in.

CASABLANCAS: Son.
DICK: Just so you know, the world doesn't stop because you decided to show up.
CASABLANCAS: Well, had I known it was interfering with your surfing, I would have come sooner.
DICK: Like maybe for Cassidy's funeral? This is where he died, you know? I walk by the spot he splattered on every day.
CASABLANCAS: You think I'm not sorry about Cassidy?
DICK: What are you sorry for, Dad? That he's dead?
CASABLANCAS: Of course.
DICK: You ever think he's dead because of us, or that he killed those people because of us?!

Big Dick tries to reach out to his increasingly hysterical son.

CASABLANCAS: Son.
DICK: We used to have contests to see which one of us could make him cry! I can barely live with myself sometimes, and it's so much easier when you're not around!

Big Dick doesn't know where to look.

INT - NEPTUNE GRAND HOTEL, LOGAN'S SUITE - DAY.

Dick throws open the door of the suite and strides forward. He's still upset and doesn't bother to close the door behind him. He heads for his room but pauses as Logan, sitting on the couch eating a burger, speaks.

LOGAN: Hey, listen, about our summer plans, I know you're gonna think this is uncool, but I kind of broke down and-
DICK: I can't go.
LOGAN: What?
DICK: Yeah, the trip's not gonna happen. My dad's back, wants me to spend time with him before he goes to jail.

Dick's voice wobbles. Logan gazes at him.

LOGAN: I get it, man.
DICK: Sorry for screwing up your summer, you know?

Dick turns and walks into his room. Logan frowns.

INT - HEARST COLLEGE, PARKER AND MAC'S DORM ROOM - DAY.

Parker opens the door to the room. Logan is standing there, leaning on the door jamb.

PARKER: [brightly] Hey! I was just gonna call you. I told my parents. They freaked out. It was the best feeling.

Logan continues to stand there, hands now in pockets, unresponsive.

PARKER: What's wrong?
LOGAN: Hey, the trip's off.

Logan walks slowly into the room.

LOGAN: Dick's dad came back into town, and now he can't go, so...

Parker shuts the door behind him.

PARKER: Oh. So...I guess we're not going, then?

Parker sits down on her bed. Logan stands by her desk.

LOGAN: He was footing half the bill for the house, and it'd just be really expensive. And it was a thing me and Dick were planning on together.

Parker is extremely disappointed.

PARKER: I understand.
LOGAN: Yeah.
PARKER: I guess I'm going to Denver then.

They stare at each other across the distance.

INT - MARS RESIDENCE - NIGHT.

VERONICA: Dad! Check this out.

Veronica is on the couch, sitting between the legs of and against Piz, and is holding both his hands. They are watching television.

VINNIE VOICEOVER: [on TV] I'm Vincent Van Lowe.

Keith comes in from the bedroom and sits on the arm of the armchair.

KEITH: Aw, no.
VINNIE VOICEOVER: [on TV] I was born in Neptune.

On the screen, Vinnie portrays himself as a pillar of the community. He is shown in a shirt, tie and hard hat at a building site, as if the builder or project manager.

VINNIE VOICEOVER: [on TV] I live in Neptune.

There's a couple of black and white shots of Vinnie working at a desk in an office befitting a district attorney, complete with flags and a bookshelf stuff with law books.

VINNIE VOICEOVER: [on TV] My friends and family live in Neptune. That's why what happens in our city concerns me so much.
VERONICA: Ugh.

On the screen, colour has returned in pictures of Vinnie playing with children.

VINNIE VOICEOVER: [on TV] There's nothing more important than the safety of our children.
VERONICA: Vinnie has kids?
KEITH: None that he's aware of.

The commercial moves on to scraps of headlines and newspaper articles: "Burglary crime wave continues," "Suspects at large in burglary c... Home owners furious over lack of arrests," by Adam Grossman referencing a particular theft from the Robertsons of their jewellery and their toy dog, Ruffy, and "Unsolved home burglaries eroding public's t... Concerned home owners fearful for their safety, demanding a...."

VINNIE VOICEOVER: [on TV] And the security of our homes.

Vinnie finally addresses the camera directly from the respectable desk featured in the pictures.

VINNIE: [on TV] I'm Vincent Van Lowe, and I'm asking for your vote.

The screen fades into Vinnie's graphic which reads "Vincent Van Lowe for Sheriff" where the "Vincent" is set over a six-pointed star/badge.

FEMALE VOICEOVER: [on TV] Vinnie Van Lowe has been endorsed by the Neptune Homeowners Association.

Keith shakes his head.

VERONICA: Well, from the ridiculous to the sublime, Apollo and Kizza's blood test checked out. No surprise.

The phone rings. Keith gets up to answer it.

KEITH: Hello? Sure.

Keith holds out the phone to Veronica.

KEITH: It's for you.

Veronica disentangles herself from Piz and gets up to take the phone.

VERONICA: Hello?

Veronica listens with increased incredulity.

VERONICA: Really?

Piz watches her.

VERONICA: That's incredible.

Keith does too but smiles as he realises what's happening.

VERONICA: Thank you.

Veronica, her mouth wide open, terminates the call. She tosses the phone on the counter and turns to face Keith.

VERONICA: I'm in. The FBI has chosen me for their summer internship!

Veronica jumps excitedly into Keith's arms. He's as thrilled as she is.

KEITH: Yes! Talk about making up for that crappy P.I. exam score. You did it, honey.

Veronica jumps out of the embrace and jumps up and down instead.

KEITH: My daughter the Fed! VERONICA: Twelve fun-filled, pay-free weeks of schlepping coffee and office supplies at the Federal Bureau of Investigation!

Keith holds out a hand.

KEITH: Ice cream!

They slap hands. Veronica laughs and as Keith rushes off, Piz stands in front of her. She's still really excited, hopping about.

VERONICA: I can't believe it!
PIZ: It's in Virginia, right?
VERONICA: Yeah.

She hugs him, still laughing, missing the resignation on his face.